Illuminated fountain



1932- c. P. PROFFATT 1,339,994

ILLUMINATED FOUNTAIN Filed Sept. 4, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Jan. 5, 1932. Q P, ATT 1,839,994

ILLUMINATED FOUNTAI N Fiiea Sept. 4, 1929 2 Sheets-$heet 2 .of water or a spray thereof.

Patented Jan. 5, 1932 UNITED" STATES men D P-" is CHARLES r. rnorrn'r'r, or ,LOSQ'ANGELES, oamronnrmnssrenon. or ONE-THIRD To SAMUEL r. MOULTON AND. ONE-THIR-DTO .romr anonmon, BOTH or LOS ANGELES,

CALIFORNIA I rLLuMrNArEn ronNrArnQ Application filed September 4, 1829. Serial'No. 390,298.

This invention relates to illuminated fountains and has for an object the provisionof novel means whereby water emanating from a fountain may be given the effect of a colored waterfall or geyser, the said invention including means for illuminating a column It is a further object of this invention to provide means for controlling the flow of water and to disperse or separate or spread the water, according to the effect desired.-

It is furthermore an Object to produce a fountain of'nov'el construction having illuminating means bywhich the wateris lighted. With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention consists in the details of construction, and in the arrangementand ,"cornbination of parts to be'hereinafter more fully set forth and claimed.

In describing the invention in detail,"refere'nce will be had to the accompanying drawingsforining part of this application, wheren like characters denote corresponding parts in the severalviews, and in which- Figure-1 illustrates a viewin elevationof a fountain showing a single column;

Figure Qillustrates a sectional view of, illuminating means associated with the water distributing means; Y

Figure 3 illustrates a top plan view of the device shown in Fig. 2;

Figure 4; illustrates a sectional view of an illuminating fountain embodying adiflfere'nt construction; I

Figure 5 illustrates a top plan View theref; v i

Figure 6 illustrates a fountain havingan other construction; I v I Figure 7 illustrates a sectional View, of a fragmentof a fountain showing the diaphragm or water discharge instrumentality;

Figure-8 illustrates a plan view-of a sectional transparentplate; I Y Y Figure 9 illustrates the arrangement iof a bypass for regulating the pressure of water; anc v V Figure '10 illustrates a sectional view'of a conventionally shown fountain with illuminating means for concentrating the rays of light with respect to the stream. Y

;The inventor does not wish to be limited with respect to (the external configuration of the bowl of the fountain, its pedestal, or the like, but it is conventionally shown and iden tifiedJby the numeral 10 in Figure 1. The nozzle 11 is shownabove the bowl and it may comprise one of the types disclosed herein. I I

1 In Figures 2 and 3, the water distributing and illuminating instrumentalities are shown detached from the bowl of the fountain or other parts thereof, and it is to be understood that one such apparatus may beinstalled in association withany suitable fountain, In the .embodiment of the invention shown in Figure 2,. a lamp casing or closure 12 will, of course, be provided with theusual lighting fixtures, such as sockets, or the like, a which need not be described in detail, as they may be employed'or selectedto suit particular requirements. An electric lamp 13 is conventionally shown below a colored glass I there is an outer casing 19 in spaced relation thereto whose wall'is approximately parallel to that of the wall". 17. The casings 16 and 19 each has a cylindrical lowerportion, and

the outer casing is connected at its upper end -with the member 17efiective to close the upper end of the casing19. The-walll7 has a plurality of apertures 20 through which water'escapes fromthe passage between the wallsl? and 19 and waterv is supplied to the interior of the device. A service pipe 21c):- tends-to the nterior of the cas ng or housing 19. g p j l W :lVhen the lamp. is illuminated, the light will, of course, showithrou'gh the colored glass, which color may be unitary throughout the glass or it, maybe variegated, as those skilled-in the art will understand' conduit and they project outwardly into i116 The mechanical features entering into the assembly of the parts are immaterial and may be changed to suit particular requirements, but the ordinary flanges 22 and 23 are shown, being secured together by fastenings 24, such as bolts or the like, and, of course, suitable gaskets may be employed where they are required for effecting watertight joints.

The parabolic reflector will concentrate the light rays and the water beingin an agitated condition will be centered at the discharge orifice and the rays striking thedischarge will illuminate the same.

In that form of the invention illustrated in Figure 4, a casing 25 similar to the rellecto 12 is employed with the lampinstalied, but in this form a tank 27 has a glass closure 26 at its bottom through which thelight is visible. In this form of the invention, a concave plate- 28 is employed and it may be provided with a plurality of apertures, such as 29,0f different sizes through which water will be ejected by a pressure that will lift the'wate'r to a predetermined height and the water, of course, will be colored in accordance with the color of the glass employed in the bottom ofthe tank. A battle plate 30 is held by a screw 31 threaded in the wall of the tank so that the battle plate may be adjusted to diflieient distances with respect to the supply pipe 32 which delivers water to thetank. The employment of the bafile plate insures that the pressure of the water through the diflerent apertures will be uniform and will prevent undue swirling of the water within the tank.

In Figure 6, a casing 33 similar to the other casings employed'is associated with the lamp, but inthis construction the superimposed water conduit 34 tapers upwardly and terminates in a nozzle 35. A' colored glassplate 36 is interposed between the lamp and this water-conduit so that the column of water emanating from the nozzle isappropriately colored. In this form of theinvention, water is prevented from swirling in. its passage upwardly in=the conduit throughthe employment of a plurality of radially disposed fins whose edges engage the inner wall of the conduit a suitable distance. In this form of the invention, obviously any appropriate arrangement of the packing or gaskets may be employed and the inventor does not .wish to be limited with respect to them.

Figure? shows a slightly modified form of plate corresponding to the plate 28, eX- cept-that it is-straight and it is identified by thenumeral 37. This is to be associated with a tank 38 and suitable fittings 39 may be employed in connection therewith; Only fragments of these parts are'shown in Figure 7, butenough is illustrated to enable one skilled in the art to understand the same. Instead of having the plate 28 concave, as

shown in Fig. 4, or flat, as shown in Fig. 7, it may obviously be convexedly shaped.

In order to regulate the dispersion of the water within any of the tanks, the plate of the deflector 41 is provided with bypass openings or holes 40 through which water may escape. These holes are controlled, that is to say, they are closed or partially closed through the employment of a segmental plate 41 conforming to the contour of the inner wall of the plate, the said plate having projcctions 42 which fit into and close the holes. The projections may be tapered in order that the control of the holes may be regulated to increase or diminish the capacity of the bypass. A suitable screw 43 may be swiveled in the plate and threaded in an opening 44 of the tank with'the parts in operative relation to permit the projections to enter-the bypass holes.

Figure 8 illustrates the employment of a transparent element for the bottom of the water holder or tank comprising a plurality of sections 45 differently coloredand through which light may be projected to produce a variegated coloring of water issuing from the fountain. The sections of the colored material are bound together by a resilient ring 46 so that they will be held in place when assembled with relation to the reflector and the tank.

In illuminated fountains the focusing of the light rays with respect to the spray or stream is essential, but, as this is well known in the art, it is believed unnecessary to refer to it except in a general way.

The inner surfaces of the elements 12, 25 and 33 will be reflective and of parabolic form, or light ray concentrating or directing instrumentalities may be employed, or, when lenses are used, the reflector may be globular as conventionally shown in Fig. 10. The manner of converging or diverging rays of light through the employment of lenses is well known and they will be employed in the device of this invention in accordance with the requirement. In Figure 10, the water circulating receptacle 45 may be of the general type illustrated in Fig. 6 with a nozzle 46' and a water delivery pipe 47. Acolored plate 48 may be located above the lamp 49 and suitable lenses 50 and 51 in a suitable manner below the water so that the rays of light from the lampwill be focused through the nozzle.

Where spray type units are employed, better illuminating results are usually obtained by focusing so that when the spray is on the outside the focus will be on the outside, but when the spray is on the inside the light will be focused to the inside. Also, where the spray is in. the center, the focus of light should be to the center.

While, as stated, a focusing device such as is shown in Fig. 10 may be employed, a satisfactory result may also be obtained by shapmg the reflectors 12, 25 and 33 and locating the lamp in such relation thereto that proper lighting effects will result, as the light rays will be concentrated at the nozzle, beyond which they are diffused, striking upon the spray and deflected atoms of water.

I claim;

1. In an illuminated fountain, the combination of a lamp supporting socket and lamp mounted therein, a reflector supported on said socket and forming a supporting base, a water chamber on said base having a restricted outlet, a cover plate pervious to light interposed between said reflector and chamber, a water supply pipe connected to said chamber adjacent the bottom thereof, and bafiie means in said casing between the Water inlet and outlet.

2. In an illuminated fountain, the combination of a lamp supporting socket and lamp mounted therein,- a reflector supported on said socket and forming a supporting base, a water chamber on said base having a restricted outlet, a cover plate pervious to light interposed between said reflector and chamber, a water supply pipe connected to said chamber at right angles to its outlet and adjacent the bottom thereof, and an inverted perforate cone shape baffle in said casing between the water inlet and-outlet.

3. In an illuminated fountain, the combination of a lamp supporting socket and lamp mounted therein, a reflector supported on said socket and forming a supporting base, a water chamber on said base having a re.- stricted outlet, 21 cover plate pervious to light interposed between said reflector and chamber, a Water supply pipe connected to said chamber at right angles to its outlet and adjacent the bottom thereof, and a combined adjustable baflle and control valve member in said casing between the water inlet and outlet.

V l. In an illuminated fountain, the combination of a lamp supporting socket and lamp mounted therein, a reflector supported on said socket and forming a supporting base, a water chamber on said base having a restricted outlet, a cover plate pervious to light interposed between said reflector and chamber, a water supply pipe connected to said chamber at right angles to its outlet and adjacent the bottom thereof, and a series of radial spaced longitudinally extending baflle plates in said casing between the water inlet and outlet. 7

CHARLES P. PROFFATT. 7 

